Weather Giving Jersey Anglers Unexpected Bonus Fishing Report

January 19, 1989|by LEONARD KUCINSKI, The Morning Call

The same mild temperatures that have been ruining the day for ice fishermen are keeping the whiting, ling and blackfish closer to shore and giving New Jersey party boat fishermen an unexpected extension of the season.

Usually, whiting and ling are in the very deep waters farther offshore and the blackfish have left the inshore wrecks by the end of January. But this is not a normal winter.

On a nice weekend day, boats in the Brielle, Belmar, Point Pleasant area are carrying a good number of fares; and even weekdays are bringing fishermen out for either a day, afternoon/evening or night trip.

On good days, it is still possible to catch 20-30 fish, and some day trips are also producing catches of mackerel - a fish normally long gone by this time. Some party boats didn't have this much activity last summer, when reports of medical waste washing ashore and below normal ocean water temperatures hampered the activity.

"This is the best winter I can remember in years," said Belmar Harbormaster Jim Klug. "The last couple of winters have been disasters as far as the weather and fishing, but right now lots of boats are running and lots of people are fishing. And everybody seems to be catching fish."

Most of the fishing is still in 60-90 feet of water. On some days, boats fish the edges of the Mud Hole in 125 feet of water. How long the fish will remain inshore, of course, depends upon the water temperature, which is still looking good.

Offshore fishing for cod has been decent, although not as good as last year. John Bogan of Brielle Bait & Tackle said the average cod catch has been 2-5 fish a man, with fish averaging 12-20 pounds. He said that the Bogan fleet has been running on a full schedule. Keep in mind, though, that while temperatures may be unseasonably warm, there are still a lot of nasty days on the ocean and high winds and storms will keep most boats at the dock.

Some other good news for Northern Jersey fishing, which really deserves a break after the past summer, is that what will be the largest artificial reef off the Jersey coast is now being constructed 1 1/2 miles off Monmouth Beach on the Sandy Hook artificial reef.

The materials used to build this reef are coming from the demolition of the old Colgate-Palmolive manufacturing plant which closed after 141 years of existence in Jersey City. A six-block area is being torn down, with most of the concrete and steel debris being loaded onto barges for the 23-mile trip to the site.

On the freshwater scene, ice on many bodies of water is disappearing fast, with shorelines going out first. Right now, conditions can be determined without much testing. Dark areas are indications that water is just underneath, and milky white ice is most likely rotten.

If the ice goes, you can always fish from shore, which many people are doing at Ontelaunee Lake. The catch is panfish and small bass and the action isn't bad. Best spots are Peters Cove and the picnic area off Route 73.

On Sunday at Ontelaunee, everyone was talking about a 33-inch northern pike coming through the ice. The pike is a rare fish in this part of the state, but the fish commission has been stocking for the past three years. It is very, very doubtful that there will be any safe ice at Ontelaunee by the weekend.

A check of Beltzville Lake yesterday revealed that there was ice north of Preachers Camp boat launch and north of the bridge at Pine Run. The rest of the lake is open. There was a fishing bonus at Beltzville this week, but no one seems to be able to take advantage of it. The fish commission stocked 1,000 lake trout, 10-24 inches, and even though people were fishing for them from the shore and from the ice, few catches were reported. In the Wild Creek section of the lake, though, Ryan Blose, 16, of Parryville caught an 18-inch chain pickerel through the ice.

Leaser Lake's ice has disappeared. Most of the small, shallow Pocono lakes have decent ice and, at times, decent fishing.

Steelhead fishing in the Oswego and Salmon rivers in New York State is running about normal for this time of year. This area is also experiencing mild weather. Cliff Creech, regional fisheries manager, said the temperature yesterday was 35 degrees - almost a heat wave for that section of the country.